Old Glory Honor Flight undeterred despite shutdown

Oct. 10, 2013

National World War II Memorial is closed, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, in Washington, because of the partial government shutdown. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) / ASSOCIATED PRESS

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APPLETON — Northeastern Wisconsin veterans won’t have to break down barricades to see memorials erected in their honor next week, but the federal government shutdown will still impact the Appleton-based Honor Flight.

While the 20th Old Glory Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., is still scheduled to take off Oct. 17, organizers have scrambled to adjust the itinerary based on which memorials are closed to veterans in light of the ongoing shutdown.

“Barricades are up at specific memorials,” said Diane MacDonald, one of the trip’s organizers and treasurer of the Old Glory board of directors. “We still can’t go to the Iwo Jima Memorial or the Vietnam Wall, and those are all part of the itinerary of what we do.”

Since 2009, Old Glory Honor Flight has organized all-expense paid trips for almost 1,700 northeastern Wisconsin veterans visit Washington, D.C., and Honolulu to see the National World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the USS Arizona Memorial and others dedicated to veterans.

Initially, all the monuments in the nation’s capital were closed Oct. 1, when the federal government shut down due to Congress’ continuing battle over the Affordable Care Act. But after two days of veterans storming the barriers to view the memorials, the National Park Service said it would stop barring visitors.

In the Fox Valley, Honor Flight coordinators struggled to figure out how to still provide the best experience for veterans — many of whom will not have a second chance to see the monuments. Without funding, the memorials have closed restrooms and halted garbage pickup, MacDonald said.

“They get one shot at this,” she said. “It’s frustrating when we’re trying to do a service to our veterans.”

To compensate for the confusion, MacDonald estimates that organizers have spent an extra 100 hours figuring out how to plan around locked-up restrooms and closed museums, where the veterans would normally seek shelter in case of bad weather.

“We don’t want any surprises,” she said. “I’m relieved the government has said we can go see the memorials, but there’s another side to that, and that’s figuring out the logistics.”

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At least a dozen of the 85 veterans participating in the Oct. 17 flight have contacted the organization with concerns about how the government shutdown would affect their trip, MacDonald said.

“There has been some anxiety, absolutely,” she said. “We’ve received phone calls, emails, messages through our Facebook page. They are worried about it.”

With 600 northeastern Wisconsin veterans currently on the Old Glory Honor Flight waiting list, it takes a little more than a year before veterans get to take their trip. Each flight costs about $70,000 to arrange, and the flights are currently open to World War II and Korean War veterans.

Despite the setbacks, MacDonald said the trip will still be a great experience for the men and women who served their country.

“We’re doing the best we can, and we know they’re going to have a great day,” she said. MacDonald said she hopes a crowd will help cheer on the veterans as they return to Outagamie County Regional Airport around 8:20 p.m. after their daylong trip.

The SwingTime Band will perform at the “welcome home” event, which starts at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.oldgloryhonorflight.org.